History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 230 "Tongqi Gate"

【"Tongqi Gate"】

When Zhu Wen went east to attack Xuzhou, Liu Zhijun led 2,000 men to surrender, and in the following battles, he was the bravest among all the generals and was known as "Liu Kaidao". In the battle to pacify Qingzhou, he was awarded the title of Jiedushi of Tongzhou Kuangguo Army for his meritorious service, and from then on he guarded the western border for Zhu Wen. In the following years, there was no war in Guanxi, and Liu Zhijun was almost forgotten by history.

Now, Li Maozhen was ready to make a move, Guanxi was in turmoil, and Liu Zhijun's talent was put to good use, ushering in his highlight moment. He repeatedly defeated the larger force with a smaller one, and the Guanxi Group was defeated step by step, and various states and cities surrendered one after another. Liu Zhijun single-handedly expanded the territory for the Later Liang Dynasty and pushed the western territory to the hinterland of Guanxi (Bingzhou).

During this process, Liu Zhijun used a small army to swallow up two military towns of the Guanxi Group: Yanzhou Baosai Army and Fuzhou Baoda Army. This was also the biggest victory fruit of the western battlefield.

According to convention, Liu Zhijun should at least be appointed as the governor of one of the military towns. However, Zhu Wen appointed Gao Wanxing, a surrendered general from Yanzhou, as the governor of Yanzhou Baosai Army, and Niu Cunjie as the governor of Fuzhou Baoda Army.

The unclear rewards and punishments made Liu Zhijun very depressed.

At this time, Zhu Wen sent another order to Liu Zhijun to attack Bingzhou. Liu Zhijun refused to execute it on the grounds of insufficient logistical supplies and led his troops back to his town.

It’s time to give up your pick.

Facing unfair treatment, it is normal to feel psychologically unbalanced and it is inevitable to get a little mad. But this is not enough to inspire rebellion.

Just like when Li Cunxiao took over Zhaoyi but was given Kang Junli by Li Keyong, Li Cunxiao was so angry that he didn't eat for several days, but he didn't rebel because of this. There must be another key factor that catalyzed his rebellion, that is, slander. Liu Zhijun was no exception.

Interestingly, this slander was not directed at Liu Zhijun, but at Wang Zhongshi.

Wang Zhongshi was a veteran member of Zhu Wen's group (he joined the group when Zhu Wen was fighting against Qin Zongquan). He was an excellent martial artist, especially good at sword and lance. He made great contributions during Zhu Wen's Eastern Expedition. At that time, Zhu Wen besieged Puzhou and finally destroyed a section of the city wall. However, the defenders piled firewood at the gap, which formed an insurmountable wall of fire after being ignited to block the Bian army. Wang Zhongshi was sick in bed. When he heard about it, he immediately jumped up and ordered the soldiers to dip quilts in water and throw them into the fire. Then he led the way, crossed the wall of fire, fought with the enemy, and finally tore a gap for the Bian army. Finally, Puzhou was captured, but Wang Zhongshi was seriously injured and his life was in danger.

After the Battle of Puzhou, Zhu Wen personally went to the sickbed to visit the injured. He held his sick body with his hands and could not help but burst into tears. He said with great sorrow: "I would rather not have Puzhou than suffer the loss of the royal army!" It was like Liu Bei throwing his son at Changbanpo.

Zhu Wen found a famous doctor to treat Wang Zhongshi, and after more than a month of rescue, Wang Zhongshi was out of danger.

Afterwards, he followed the army into battle, made many military achievements, and now is stationed in Da'an Prefecture.

Da'an Prefecture, or Chang'an, was the capital of the Tang Empire. It was once prosperous, but it has been repeatedly ravaged by war since the Huang Chao Rebellion. Before the establishment of the Later Liang Dynasty, there were records of wild foxes roaming the streets. The previous article briefly listed several major damages suffered by Chang'an City, so I will not repeat them here.

It had been less than three years since Wang Zhongshi arrived at Da'an Prefecture, and although the situation had recovered somewhat, supplies were still relatively scarce. During the Battle of Luzhou, Zhu Wen requisitioned food and supplies, but Wang Zhongshi failed to deliver them in time. To be fair, Wang Zhongshi did have his own difficulties.

However, Zhu Wen was very angry about this, thinking that Wang Zhongshi was arrogant and ignored his authority. This is the prejudice of all team leaders against "heroes who followed the emperor" and "old veterans".

At this time, another incident hurt Zhu Wen and touched his sensitive nerve towards the "veteran heroes": Wang Zhongshi sent troops without authorization.

Maybe it was to cooperate with Liu Zhijun's operations, maybe it was to take advantage of the defeat of the Guanxi Group, or maybe it was to counterattack in self-defense after being attacked by the Guanxi Group... This reason has become a historical mystery that will never be solved, and we cannot verify it. In short, Wang Zhongshi, without the approval of the organization, arbitrarily sent troops deep into Fengxiang, Bingzhou and other Guanxi hinterlands to carry out military operations and returned in defeat.

No matter what considerations and motives Wang Zhongshi had, he made a serious mistake: raising troops without authorization. Although he was a vassal (Jiedushi of Youguo Army) and a prime minister (Tongpingzhangshi), he was still Zhu Wen's henchman. All his actions had to follow the principle of "asking for instructions early and reporting frequently", so that his boss Zhu Wen could grasp his every move and understand his every word and deed.

He raised troops without authorization and wanted to pick up fish on the battlefield in Guanxi. Was he trying to learn from Tian Jue in Huainan?

Zhu Wen was quite dissatisfied with this, so he ordered Wang Zhongshi to report to the central government. At the same time, he dispatched his confidant Liu Han to be the commander of the Youguo Army and temporarily take over Wang Zhongshi's work.

This was a big mistake by Zhu Wen. He thought it was a very clever political move, but it backfired. Wang Zhongshi and Liu Han were a replica of Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin. The history books also did not give a clear answer. They only said that Liu Han slandered and framed Wang Zhongshi, but did not say what the conflict between the two was, and why Liu Han framed Wang Zhongshi. However, it does not hinder our logical reasoning:

First, let’s look at the two men’s actions. Wang Zhongshi became famous in the Battle of Puzhou. "Afterwards, he launched northern expeditions to You, Cang, Zhen, and Ding, and repeatedly engaged in battles with the Jin army. He won the hearts of the soldiers, and thus won many victories." That is, he surrendered to "Shou Cai", made his debut in the Eastern Expedition, and became famous in the Northern Expedition.

Liu Han, who had more experience than Wang Zhongshi, served under Zhu Wen when he first settled in Bian. However, he became famous later than Wang Zhongshi, and made his debut during the Northern Expedition. Moreover, Liu Han's debut was quite special. He did not fight bloody battles with swords and guns, but went deep into the tiger's den and "attended the meeting alone".

The upper troops attacked the plot, the second attacked the Jiaotong, the second attacked the soldiers, and the lower attacked the city.

As detailed in the previous article, Zhu Wen's northern expedition to Zhen and Ding had a strategic goal of intimidating Heshuo and making the towns in Heshuo submit to the forces of Bianzhou, rather than actually annexing them. Therefore, the most hoped-for result was that under the combination of kindness and force of the forces of Bianzhou, the towns in Heshuo would be able to willingly submit to Bianzhou like Luo Hongxin of Wei Bo.

Thus, the "single-sword hero" Liu Han came into being.

At that time, Wang Rong of Chengde Army in Zhenzhou was very suspicious of Zhu Wen's motives, so he was on high alert. In order to show his sincerity in reconciliation and to demonstrate the strong confidence of our army, Liu Han rode alone into Zhenzhou City and explained Zhu Wen's policies to Wang Rong in person.

Liu Han was a man of courage and strategy, a man of both civil and military talents, and not only had the courage to venture into a tiger's den alone, but also had an excellent eloquence. Therefore, Wang Rong agreed to give up resistance and surrender to Zhu Wen.

Afterwards, the Bian army turned to attack the Dingzhou Yiwu army. Liu Han also rode alone into Dingzhou City to persuade Wang Chuzhi. As a result, the Dingzhou Yiwu army also surrendered to Zhu Wen.

During the "Siege of Fengxiang", Zhu Wen also sent Liu Han into the city to negotiate with Li Maozhen about reconciliation and the return of Emperor Zhaozong. This time, Liu Han met Emperor Zhaozong, who asked him about Zhu Wen's military affairs. Liu Han answered fluently without being rude or betraying his master, and was very decent. Emperor Zhaozong was very satisfied with Liu Han, and gave him a brocade robe, a silver saddle, and appointed him as Guanglu Dafu, Jianxiu Sikong, Bidenzhou Governor (later changed to Changzhou Governor), and the honorary title of "Yongyong Heroic Official Who Welcomed the Emperor to the Palace".

Although Liu Han did not rush into the enemy camp and kill indiscriminately, nor was he covered with wounds, he radiated dazzling brilliance on a battlefield where no smoke of gunpowder could be seen. With his sharp words and sharp swords, he stopped countless battles and saved countless lives.

Later, when Zhu Wen conquered Huainan, Liu Han used another of his specialties: building bridges. He built pontoon bridges twice to help the Bian army advance and retreat.

As a result, Liu Han was deeply favored by Zhu Wen and remained by his side as the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards (the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards).

With a simple review, it is not difficult to find the overlap between Liu Han and Wang Zhongshi: the Northern Expedition.

During the conquests of Zhen and Ding, Wang Zhongshi, as a fierce general, wore armor and led the troops in bloody battles; Liu Han went deep into the tiger's den and used his eloquent tongue to turn hostility into friendship.

Perhaps, conflicts arose during this period. For example, competing for merits. This was a common occurrence between generals in the same camp, and it was also an important cause of conflicts, whether it was between Zhu Zhen and Li Tangbin, or between Li Cunxiao and Li Cunxin.

Now, Zhu Wen was suspicious of Wang Zhongshi, so he transferred Wang Zhongshi to Beijing to report on his work and let Liu Han take over.

Liu Han not only took over Wang Zhongshi's position, but also shouldered a secret mission - to conduct an in-depth investigation into Wang Zhongshi's "rebellious behavior" and collect his "criminal evidence." Of course, this was an open secret and everyone knew it.

Wang Zhongshi was a man of upright character, and his anger was easily revealed on his face. He was extremely cold, indifferent, and rude to Liu Han.

Liu Han became even more resentful, so he secretly reported to Zhu Wen, falsely accusing Wang Zhongshi of colluding with the Guanxi Group.

The previous false accusation was purely groundless slander, but this time it was very different. First, Zhu Wen had already seriously suspected Wang Zhongshi subjectively; second, the focus of Liu Han's mission this time was to investigate the relationship between Wang Zhongshi and Li Maozhen. Therefore, the report that Liu Han sent back at this time that "Wang Zhongshi secretly communicated with Li Maozhen" was enough to be fatal.

As expected, Zhu Wen was furious and immediately demoted Wang Zhongshi to the position of governor of Xizhou (now Yongshun County, Hunan Province). Then, he issued an edict ordering Wang Zhongshi to commit suicide and exterminate his entire family... This opened Pandora's box and pushed down the dominoes.

(End of this chapter)